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Government Building

The Greek parliament has given the green light a contentious work legislation that enables 13-hour work shifts, in the face of fierce opposition and nationwide strike actions.

The administration stated the measure will revamp Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing faction labeled it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Main Provisions of the Recently Passed Work Legislation

Under the freshly approved legislation, annual extra hours is limited at 150 hours, while the regular 40-hour week remains in place.

The government maintains that the longer shift is elective, only applies to the private sector, and can only be applied for up to 37 days annually.

Political Support and Opposition

The recent vote was backed by MPs from the ruling centre-right party, with the centre-left party – currently the main opposition – voting against the bill, while the left-wing party abstained.

Worker organizations have organized two general strikes calling for the bill's withdrawal recently that halted public transport and public services to a stop.

Official Defense and Employee Safeguards

A senior official supported the bill, stating the changes bring in line Greek legislation with current labor-market conditions, and accused critics of misinforming the citizens.

The laws will give workers the choice to accept extra work with the current company for increased pay, while guaranteeing they will not be dismissed for declining overtime.

This complies with EU labor rules, which cap the mean week to forty-eight hours including overtime but allow adjustments over 12 months, as stated by the government.

Critical Viewpoints and Union Reactions

However, critics have accused the administration of eroding workers' rights and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They say Greek workers already put in more time than the majority of Europeans while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union said flexible working hours in practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the disruption of family and social life and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Reforms and Financial Context

Last year, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for specific industries in a bid to boost the economy.

Recent legislation, which started at the beginning of July, allow employees to work up to 48 hours in a week as instead of 40.

EU Work Data and Greek Financial Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in the previous year, the longest working weeks were recorded in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to Eurostat.
• Starting this year, the nation's official base pay was €968 a month, ranking it in the bottom group among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in the summer versus an European mean of five point nine percent, data from the statistical office show.
• The country is improving since its decade-long financial troubles, which concluded in 2018, but salaries and quality of life continue to be among the lowest in the European Union.